Patti Cake$ (2017) Reviews

• GO WHITE GIRL GO WHITE GIRL GO...!

  masonfisk2018-08-27

  A feel good drama about a NJ white girl who wants to be a rapper. Has more humor going for it than say Hustle & Flow but essentially the message of making it out of the hole you find yourself is still a potent one. A lot of fun, can't wait for PBN & J's debut CD.

• 1 Star - Awful

  date-899272017-08-26

  Well what good can be said about this film?? I was sure glad when it was over; so I guess that would be the one good thing about it. It is a movie overflowing with clichés, and lazy writing, and mediocre to bad acting. The accents the characters use are really annoying, and the words and phrases are simplistic and a lot of them disgusting. Some people say about movies that they did not really care much for: "wait and watch it on DVD". However with this movie, I suggest avoiding it all together. There are much, much, much better ways to spend your precious time.

• A star is born

  TheLittleSongbird2017-09-06

  Love films centred around music. Being someone who grew up with music being a huge part of my life, who sings and who graduated last year with a degree in Vocal and Operatic Studies, so considers music very important and that it wasn't appreciated enough or sadly not cool to like as a subject in my school years. Am not a big fan of rap, with a few exceptions, often finding it simplistic, repetitive and preachy, but have a high appreciation, if not quite love, for blues. So wasn't sure how good 'Patti Cake$' would be, despite it being positively received, but there are good music-following your dreams films out there and there was the hope that 'Patti Cake$' would be one of them. Seeing it, it was. Not as amazing as the best reviews have said it is, but for its flaws there is a lot to like here and it was quite the pleasant surprise. Sure, 'Patti Cake$', being a film that treads familiar ground, is very predictable with not much new and characters that fall into cliché territory. The looking up to the rap god subplot is contrived and underdeveloped, feeling like filler. Agree too that the script has its clunky moments. However, there are good things. The budget is not a huge one and 'Patti Cake$' is not a grand in spectacle film, nor does it need to be. It's hardly a cheap-looking film and is shot well. The music is catchy and tune, yes even the rap despite some simplistic lyric writing. Most of the writing has humour that's a mix of gentle and witty, a warm heart and heartfelt poignancy. For its clichés and predictability and one subplot that falls flat, the story has freshness too and told in a way that has vibrancy and heart, with a lot of energy and creative spark, the very definition of feel good, it's very sweet, heart-warming and uplifting and the underdog/following your dreams story as a result just about works. Geremy Jasper keeps things moving beautifully, with great direction of his actors and the drama and great, near-seamless synchronisation of visuals, staging and music. The characters, despite being clichés, are both fun and not hard to like, with the lead character being proof that one doesn't need to look like a supermodel to be an inspirational role model. In no way is that meant to cause offence, actually think lowly of people who think it's alright to make shallow comments about people's looks. The cast do a great job, with Bridget Everett, Siddharth Dhananjay and Mamoudou Athie providing zesty support and Cathy Moriaty registering strongly too. Best of all, the backbone of the film and the best thing about it, is Danielle MacDonald, a brilliant star-making turn and she deserves to be a big star after this. All in all, a very nice film that made me feel good, regardless of not completely loving it. Am aware that this review is going to be very unpopular, despite being a subjective person that the very eruditely written and in my mind honest positive reviews have so many negative useful votes is a surprise to me. 7/10 Bethany Cox

• Didn't expect much, walked away very surprised in a great way.

  stephen-black-257-5761592017-11-14

  What a shocker! I didn't think I would enjoy this but had time to kill. I was impressed enough to post a review, which I never do. The characters pulled me in and really made me feel something. Make me feel something, angry, sad, happy, scared, confused, anything. A good movie (for me) takes me away from my life and lets me see the world through others eyes for an hour and a half. This is not a prospective I would ever have imagined I would enjoy but I did. By the end of the movie I was rooting for Pati and her friends. I really felt vested in what I was seeing all a while through their eyes. Great acting, great story, great idea all around. Watching this movie was time well spend. Kudos!

• Warm funny star is born (Danielle MacDonald that is)

  conan-22017-06-18

  I saw this at the Sydney Film Festival 2017. This movie is the typical youth dreaming of becoming a star and then we route for him/her as they are rejected by the establishment only to rise like a phoenix. Why so they keep making them? Because we love them is why. The beauty here is the parallels with the star Danielle MacDonald. Danielle is a Sydney girl, who could not get noticed down under and went State-side to find her niche. Her talent is unstoppable and she does dirty Jersey (their words in credits not mine) proud. The rapping is brilliant. I can't understand most of the stuff they play on the radio but given the context, the lyrics are poignant cries to the world of her plight. Go - be inspired by Killer P and try stop singing P B N J days after you see the movie.